


Weiss on the Yellow Black road

by Flexor



Series: Remnant: To hell in a handbasket. [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bad jokes., Dealing with past trauma, Friendship, Moderate lewdness, Post-Season/Series 03, Travel, Yang-grade bad jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6409399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flexor/pseuds/Flexor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a follow-on to "Bianca Nevada, International woman of mystery". We find our friends on their way to Haven. Along the way, they try to come to terms with the recent traumatising events. Will the White Fang leave them alone? Well, if you have to ask, you already know the answer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weiss on the Yellow Black road

"So," said Yang Xiao Long. She put her hands behind her head as they were walking along the road to Mistral. "Sun Wukong. How good is he?"

Blake Belladonna shook her head to clear out the dark clouds in her mind. She moved her thoughts into the much nicer place of Sun's apartment.

"He's good."

"Oh. Well, that's all we need to know," said Yang, with a sneer. "Come _on_ woman! Give us filthy details! How big is he? Is he loud? Rough? Who was on top? Does he do foreplay? What do those abs of his feel like? What tricks does he do? Tell us!"

Blake counted out on her fingers. "Really big, average loud, starts easy but gets rough once he knows you can take it, both of us on top about half and half, nobody has time for foreplay, his abs feel _amazing_ , and oh sweet Lady Bastet, the things he can do with his tail..."

"That's more like it! Tell us about the tail."

"Yes Blake, please do," said Weiss Schnee, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "It is essential knowledge for our immediate future."

Blake pushed Weiss away, looked deeply into Yang's eyes. "He can take care of both sides at the same time. The hair on his tail is rough. And that tail is strong enough for him to hang from it, remember?"

"Hmm..."

"Do you have anything planned for when you meet Ren again?"

"Not really," said Yang. "I imagine something massive, loud, and probably improvised."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Has anyone bothered to see if we're going in the right direction?"

"We're on the road to a fishing village called Sweetwater." said Blake. "Once we're there, we have to get on a boat to Levanter Harbor. I like improvising. It's been said there's no such thing as a nice surprise, but I'd make an exception for when you're in bed together."

"Is that bird up there a sparrowhawk?" Weiss was fast running out of subtle ways to change the subject.

Yang put her hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Blake, we can't talk about boys all the time."

"No? Why not?"

"We have to talk about girls as well, or Weiss will feel left out."

Weiss snapped her head round to Yang, eyes on fire. "Well thank _you_! Did you even _think_ that I might want to keep it to myself who I like to get in bed with?"

Yang winced. "Sorry Weiss. My bad."

"Don't worry about it Weiss," said Blake. "I knew you liked girls before you knew I was a Faunus."

" _What_?!"

"Well, it's the way you were always looking at me, whenever I came out of the shower, or walked around in my underwear. Hiding behind a book, usually. Never upside down, credit where credit is due."

Weiss glared at Blake. "I have _never_ said or done _anything_ inappropriate towards you!"

"I don't mind, really." Blake's eyes looked far away, and a little smirk was on her face. "Makes me feel pretty."

"Hrmph," said Weiss, or words to that effect.

They walked on, quietly. Yang decided to push her luck.

"So Weiss, who of us has the best butt?"

"Blake."

"Really? You don't even need to think about it?"

"Absolutely. Blake, then me, _then_ you."

"I'm sad and disappointed," said Yang.

Weiss slowly started to grin. "Don't be too sad about it, Yang."

"No?"

Weiss beamed at her. "You can have the booby prize."

Blake smiled in the way she did when others would have collapsed in uncontrollable giggles, while Yang hung her head, a broken woman, beaten at her own game. Weiss walked on with a spring in her step, aura radiating smugness, as they went on along the road. 

* * *

 

They had settled down for the night, a little way away from the road. Weiss was boiling a kettle of water on the fire for coffee and tea, and they were having delicious "rustic stew" from their Meals, Ready to Eat. The MREs were small, light, contained all the nutrients a Huntress needs to get her through the day, and looked and tasted like someone had already eaten them once before.

"Ow," said Weiss, and sucked her finger. The handle was hot. She looked round for something to pick the kettle up with. 

Yang leaned over and picked it up with her metal hand. Weiss and Blake held up their mugs, and Yang poured boiling water over the tea and coffee powder. They didn't say much as they finished their meal.

"Who's for first watch?"

Weiss raised her hand. Yang and Blake simply nodded and turned in. 

 

Weiss pulled her new and improved sleeping bag round her and looked at the stars. The fire was burning low. The wind was blowing gently. The promise of Spring was in the air, but what good would Spring be if all the world would turn dark? What could they even do about the new horrors that awaited them?

She looked up at a noise. Over by the fire, Blake was twisting and turning, making distressed noises in her sleep. Weiss kneeled by her and looked at her face, all screwed up. She gently put her hand on Blake's shoulder.

With a snarl, Blake woke up, grabbed her sword and struck out. Weiss could only just move out of the way in time. Blake stared at her wide-eyed, realising what she'd done.

"S-sorry..."

Weiss took a few deep breaths, blessing her reflexes. "It's all right. Nothing happened. All good."

Blake put her sword away. Weiss sat down next to her.

"You were having a bad dream."

"That's all of them," said Blake.

"Want to tell me about it?"

Blake shook her head. She lay back down, put her sword within easy reach, closed her eyes. Weiss watched her for a few moments.

"It's almost like there's two of me," Blake said. "One of me who can take someone's arm off while they're begging her not to, and one..." Blake opened her eyes. "I can hurt someone and feel nothing. I used to think that torturers were the worst people imaginable. To bring fear, pain. To break a person, body and soul." Blake's voice shook. "I was _joking_ to that medic, and then I cut off both his arms, just so he couldn't treat White Fang fighters anymore. He's still out there somewhere, Weiss. I have become a monster. I don't deserve to live."

"Yes you do," said Weiss. "You have done terrible things. But it is our _job_ to do terrible things. Because of what you did, the White Fang will not be as effective as they once were. They know now that there is a price to attacking us. The foot soldiers, those who once were librarians, shopkeepers, mothers, politics students with stupid ideas in their heads. They will realise what their life expectancy is, and leave. You have saved the lives of the smart ones."

"Do you mean that what I did wasn't so bad because of who I did it to?"

Weiss bowed her head. "You saw me kill that White Fang. She didn't stand a chance. I pushed my blade into her, and then I pushed it in deeper. I didn't hate her. I wasn't even angry. I just needed her to be dead, so I made her... dead. She may have had friends. Children. And it didn't matter. If I had to do the same thing again, I would. And that's terrible, but the alternative is to let them destroy everything that we are, everything that we've done, all the way down from our ancestors. Yes, what you did was monstrous, but _not_ doing it would have been worse."

"Do you know what scares me most?" Blake raised herself on her elbow. "It's how _good_ I have become at it. Put me in the dark underground with twenty people and I will be the one who comes out alive. Even Adam. I've killed his best fighters. Some of them are as good as he is. And they don't stand a chance. I started out picking off the occasional straggler. And then I learnt how to read them. Know which way they are looking from their shadow. How to distract them with sounds. Make them wet themselves just by screaming. And kill them so they die slowly. People are right to be scared of me. _I_ am scared of me."

"Good," said Weiss. "We need scary people on our team." 

* * *

 

Blake's new scroll gave a polite little ping. She'd lost hers. This was Yang's old one from before she got the one that went with her arm. There wouldn't have been a signal out here normally, but since the CCT went down, there really wasn't much scrolls could do except the simplest of things. Such as alarm clocks. Blake stepped over where Yang was sleeping. She was on her left side, metal hand next to her face. Blake felt a pang of guilt. She shook out of it and touched Yang's shoulder. Yang made some grumbling noises and woke up. She smiled at Blake, and Blake smiled back, feeling she didn't deserve that smile.

Yang got up, looked around.

"Anything interesting happen?"

Blake shook her head. "All quiet."

"No cute boys then?"

"No."

"Oh." Yang looked at where Weiss was sleeping. "No cute girls either?"

"None, present company excepted."

"Oh well." Yang nodded. "Use my sleeping bag. It's warm."

"Thanks."

Yang settled down to her watch. Blake thought a moment, then sat down next to her, just within arm's reach. Yang gave her a look. Blake looked away for a moment, then turned to her.

"So... what is it like?"

Yang didn't answer for a while.

"It's good. It's a really advanced model, with its own processors in. I can hook it up to my scroll and it can write things from it, all by itself. It knows hand shapes for fighting. I didn't go for the sword fighting things but I can put those in if I get a sword. Weiss didn't do a half job. This thing is the best you can get."

Blake nodded.

"It doesn't feel heat or cold. It doesn't feel it when you touch it. It doesn't keep warm. It's clumsy. Tying shoelaces is a pain, but that's getting better. Doing up buttons." Yang took a breath. "It still feels strange when I touch myself with it, like I'm wearing a glove or I'm using a stick. But it's strong. Look."

Yang picked up a stone from the ground and took the strength limits off her arm. She closed her fist on the stone and crushed it to gravel. She brushed the dust off her hands, and the gesture looked strangely normal.

"That's the unlimited setting. Normally it's on 'soft touch' so I don't break things... or people. I can punch as hard with it as I could with my own arm. But I don't know if I can train it up the way I can with my left. I guess I'll see. I'll have to train aura instead of muscle."

Yang fell silent for a few moments. She reached out to Blake with her metal arm.

"Go on. Touch it."

Blake hesitated, then put her fingers on the cool, smooth metal.

"If I weren't looking, I couldn't tell if you were doing that." Yang put her other hand on Blake's. "If someone could magic my real arm back, I'd do it in a heartbeat, of course I would. But with this, I'm _useful_ again. I can live with it."

Blake put her hands in her lap, looked at the ground.

"Hey Blake."

She looked up.

"It's not your fault I lost my arm. Adam Taurus did that."

"But if I hadn't chosen to fight him. If I'd have waited for you so we could attack together. If..."

"You know what hurt me most? Being alone. Weiss was gone. Ruby, I pushed her away myself, stupid idiot. But most of all, I missed _you_."

"He'd have killed you if I had stayed. Adam has sworn to destroy everything I love, and then me. The only counter-strategy to that is not to love. When you're alone, everything you hit is an enemy. And when you die, it doesn't matter. No matter what he'd have done to me, I would still have won."

"I get that," said Yang. "Really. I understand. My _head_ understands it. It _still_ sucked, being all alone with everyone else out and about, wondering if I was ever going to be useful again. I told Ruby I didn't care where you were." Yang looked into the dying embers of the fire. "I'm a bad liar. I hope she didn't believe me. I was scared out of my head for you. I thought I'd never see you again."

"I'm sorry," said Blake.

Yang moved round to sit in front of her. She put her hands on Blake's shoulders. "Take this down, Belladonna. I don't wanna die any more than the next girl. But if I have to go, then standing back to back with you, dealing out hell to anyone comes near us. _That's_ how I'd want to go."

Blake looked at Yang for a long time.

"I mean it," said Yang.

Blake leaned forward and put her arms round her friend and fellow Huntress. She felt Yang's hands on her back, one soft and gentle, one hard and cool.

"I can't think of any better way," said Blake. 

* * *

 

"Look ahead."

Blake pointed, and immediately ran sideways off the road, hiding in the trees. Yang and Weiss followed her, though nowhere near as quickly. Blake was down on one knee, peering into the distance. One hand was on the hilt of her weapon, the other unwinding the ribbon that held it to her back.

"What is it?" said Weiss.

"White fang. Five of them. Five hundred yards out." Blake scowled. "And they've seen us. I am losing my touch."

"Do you think they want to dance?" Yang clicked out her Ember Celica vambraces with an ominous noise.

"You draw them out," said Blake. "Weiss and I attack them from behind."

"Got it."

Weiss and Blake hid behind some shrubs while Yang stood up. She looked at the masked black-and-white figures running toward her. Two of them were carrying sub-machine guns. Two had swords. One had a spear. The sword wielders came first with the spearman behind them. Behind were the gunmen, who were veering out to get a clean shot at Yang.

Yang ran into the woods, past where Blake and Weiss were hiding. She turned round, raised her fists, and opened fire with Dust shotgun rounds. She concentrated her fire on the man with the spear. One of Weiss' yellow glyphs appeared under Yang's feet, and time slowed down to a crawl. The white Fang gunners opened fire. Yang could see the bullets come sailing in. She dropped onto her stomach and fired back. Her Dust projectiles shot out to the edge of the glyph, then crawled the rest of the way towards their targets. She saw Blake and Weiss leap up behind the gunners, slowly as if they were under water. Weiss stabbed one in the back with her rapier glowing with red Dust. Blake kicked the other gunner in the head from behind, then slashed her weapon across the back of one of the sword fighters. The spearman fell to his knees as Yang's shots went through him. The last sword figher turned round to face Weiss. She struck out precisely and strong with her two-handed curved sword. Weiss parried, lunged forward, but her thrust was pushed aside. Blake's sword came down, splitting the Grimm mask and the head behind it in two.

The glyph beneath Yang faded, and the world sped up. Blake's head turned round in short swift movements, looking for more attackers. There didn't seem to be any. Yang walked forward with a big grin on her face.

" _Yeah!_ Don't mess with Team Wooby! Anybody hurt?"

Blake and Weiss shook their heads. Yang looked down on the dead fighters.

"White Fang. Who are these people? You know them Blake?"

"The sword fighters look like they're trained. The gunners are just recruits," said Blake. "Wouldn't have hit this group all at once in Mountain Glenn."

"I wonder what they are doing all the way over here," said Weiss.

Yang came round to have a better look at the spearman. She stepped on the leg of one of the gunners, who gave a startled gasp and leapt to her feet. She tried to raise her gun, but Blake sprang forward and kicked her hand. The gun sailed away. The gunner crouched down, fists raised, breathing fast. Her shoulders sagged, and she tore off her mask and hood, revealing half-long brown hair and brown eyes. Floppy ears, maybe like some kind of dog, were on her head.

"Please. Please... just let me go. Please don't kill me."

"You were trying to kill _me_ ," said Yang.

"I'm sorry!" She looked at Blake. Her eyes opened wide and she started to shake uncontrollably. She slowly backed away.

"Don't run," said Blake. "I can catch you. Do you know who I am?"

"B- Belladonna. _Please!_ " She gripped her shoulders tightly in her hands. "Please don't take my arm!"

"Those days are over," said Blake. "I'll never do that again."

"We can't let her go," said Weiss, her voice low and carefully stripped of all emotion. "The White Fang _cannot_ know where we have gone."

" _I won't tell anyone!_ I'll leave. I'll go home to my mother." She took a step forward, looking into Weiss' eyes. "I wanted to leave already, but Commander Taurus would have..."

"Stuck her up on a pole," said Blake. "She's telling the truth. I saw him do it. Took the guy two days to die. I'm bad. He is worse."

"We can't take her with us," said Weiss. "Can you imagine? Us, with a prisoner?"

"Please. Don't hurt me. I don't want to die."

Weiss looked at Blake. "They are looking for _you_. If we let her go, they'll know we're coming. The next batch will be better than these."

" _No!_ I'll do anything you say! anything you want! _Anything!_ "

Blake's face had turned to stone. She looked from the White Fang girl to Weiss.

"Monsters," said Blake.

Weiss stood like a statue. She was a few feet out of range, and would have to leap forward to strike. As soon as she would, the girl would try to move. Weiss didn't want to miss. Quick. Clean. Efficient. She focused on the spot a little bit to the right of the middle.

"It's okay." Yang slowly stepped forward. She reached out and gently put her left hand on the back of the girl's head, looking into her eyes.

"Don't worry. It's allright. Everything is going to be fine. You will be fine..."

Yang's shoulder twitched. The girl made choking noises. She tried to look down, but Yang had a firm grip on her hair and kept her looking into her eyes until her eyelids fluttered, and with a final sigh, the body went limp in Yang's arms. Yang gently lowered her to the ground, pulled her metal hand out of the girl's body. She wiped off the blood on the White Fang uniform and stood up, head bowed, eyes closed.

Weiss started breathing again. She had to use her other hand to steady the point of her sword as she put it back at her belt. It had taken maybe ten seconds. Weiss softly touched Yang's shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Blake sheathed her sword and put it on her back. "We need scary people on our team. People who do the monstrous things because not doing them is worse. So the civilians won't have to."

Weiss gave Blake a dark look. "Do you think I wouldn't have done it? After all that I told you?"

"There's only three of us and many enemies. It's not a time to get squeamish."

"I am not squeamish. Yang moved before I did, that's all."

Yang turned round. "Let's get out of here." 

 

They continued on down the road, walking quickly, eager to be as far away from the scene as possible. Weiss was in front, with Blake and Yang behind her. Yang held up her hand and looked at it, turning it round.

"It washes right off," she said. 

* * *

 

Levanter Harbor was a small town, with a lively fishing industry and a freight harbour where cargo was moved from all over the world. Poor Weiss had not enjoyed the trip over, and neither Blake nor Yang were in any mood to make fun of her. They sat on a bench on either side of Weiss, and allowed her to come back to herself a bit.

"I'll never make fun of Jaune again," said Weiss.

Yang said nothing and simply rubbed her back with her left hand. She got up.

"We need some more provisions for the rest of the trip. I'll do the shopping. Blake, you get her into the inn over there and get her a stiff drink."

Blake raised her thumb, and gently nudged Weiss in the direction of the inn. To be honest, she could use a drink herself. 

 

Yang headed for the middle of town. She looked around, and decided she liked the place. Streets with cobblestones that would play merry hell with Bumblebee's suspension, brick houses, a general feel of cleanliness. She passed a fishmongers and grinned. It was a good thing she was doing the shopping. Blake would have come back bent under the weight of every kind of fish that swam in the Mistral seas. Yang made a mental note to bring back at least a few samples for her. Right. What did they need? A few more lovely MREs, maybe some dried fish, a big bag of coffee for her and Weiss, and teabags for Blake. Anything better than the horrible stuff in the MREs. Might as well top up on Dust.

Yang turned her head at a sudden noise. Some woman was crying out, then was silent. Yang's eyes narrowed. Someone was in trouble. She shook out her Ember Celica. The noise came from an alleyway between two shops, and if she strained, she could hear the noises of people fighting.

Without another thought, Yang ran into the alleyway, ready to stop anything she thought needed to be stopped. She saw something lying on the ground a few dozen yards ahead and rushed forward. It turned out to be someone's cloak draped over a trash can. Yang frowned.

There is a specific noise that guns make when their owners want you to know that they have them, and they are aimed at you.

"Hello Blondie. Remember me? _Really_. Don't move this time. I have a gun, and I'm a bit annoyed with you. You broke my sword."

"I could have broken _you_ as well."

"Yes you could have. That's the reason I'm talking to you instead of just emptying a few clips into your legs. That, and I don't want to get your blood on me carrying you. We're going to take a walk."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I _will_ after all empty a few clips into your legs, and drag you by them. Come on, sweetheart. The boss is waiting."

He led Yang deeper into the alley, and into a door, down the stairs into a cellar. It smelled of mildew and piss.

"Nice place you've got here."

"Shut up. Through that door."

The door opened into a much better smelling room. There was a bare table and two wooden chairs. A light hung above the table, illuminating it alone, and leaving all else dark.

"Sit down."

Yang hesitated a moment, then sat down on one of the chairs.

"Hands."

Yang sighed, and put her hands behind her back. She felt the cool metal of handcuffs closing on her left wrist. Her metal wrist didn't feel a thing.

"Don't worry." There was a hint of a laugh in his voice. "This is just so we can beat you up without you hitting back. Hate it when they hit back."

"Oh good," said Yang. "Had me worried for a while there."

"Now don't move."

He walked over to the other door and knocked on it. It opened, and a man came walking in. His hair was white, as was his moustache. His suit was white and expensive. The only splash of colour was a red handkerchief peeking out of his breast pocket. He sat down on the chair opposite Yang, put his elbows on the table, and steepled his fingers. He looked at Yang with eyes the same steel-blue colour as Weiss'.

"Do you know who I am?"

"You're Papa Schnee," said Yang.

'Papa' Schnee chuckled. "Correct. I am Weiss' father. She's run off. I would very much like to have a word with her. Would you happen to know where she is?"

"Everywhere," said Yang. "She's like a gust of wind, appearing without a noise, then disappearing before you know it."

"Miss Xiao Long. For the sake of the argument, can we assume that I mean well? I appreciate that you are acting out the tough woman who will never reveal the whereabouts of her friend, no matter what tortures we subject her to, but I really bear you no ill will. Yet."

Yang took a slow deep breath. There was a sharp crack and then Yang put her elbows on the table, mirroring Mr. Schnee. He pointed at Yang's arm.

"My money paid for that pretty piece of metal. I would be within my rights to claim it back from you."

Yang smiled sweetly. "We always call Weiss 'The Heiress'. Does that mean that if you die, all the money goes to her?"

The barrel of the henchman's gun softly touched the back of Yang's neck.

"I'd hate to spill your brains all over my boss, Blondie. But I will if I have to."

Mr. Schnee laughed quietly.

"I haven't quite got round to writing her out of my will yet. Relax, Yang. I wasn't going to take your arm away from you."

"Oh _good_! Then I won't make Weiss rich beyond her wildest dreams. You see how much nicer it is when we all just get along?"

Mr. Schnee leaned back in his chair and laughed. It was a genuine laugh as far as Yang was any judge.

"Indeed it is." Mr. Schnee looked at his henchman. "Leave us."

"Sir, she _is_ armed and dangerous. I feel it is my duty to remind you."

"And now you have. Get out."

The henchman bent over to Yang. "I'll be right outside. If I hear any disquieting noises, I'll come back in and fill you so full of lead you'll sink even in the Vacuo Inner Sea."

"That'll do," said Mr. Schnee.

The henchman left. Father Schnee turned to Yang.

"So. Weiss. How is she?"

"Awesome," said Yang. "Without her, we wouldn't be here. I'd be back in Patch feeling sorry for myself, and Blake would be in the caves of Mountain Glenn with a flagpole stuck up her butt. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her."

"You think I don't love my daughter, do you?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

"I simply think she is better off in Atlas, with her family, than out in the wild where practically everything and everyone is trying to kill her."

"She's got ways of keeping people from doing that. And she's got _me_. And Blake."

"You would be welcome to accompany her to Atlas, Yang. As would your Faunus friend."

"Blake. Her name is Blake. And I very much doubt your family would welcome her."

"They'll do what I tell them. And that includes treating an ex White Fang member like a princess."

Yang stared. "You know about that?"

"The Schnee family has been forced to find out rather a lot about the White Fang and their intentions. She was instrumental in the theft of a very large shipment of Dust to Vale. But at the last moment, she balked at killing the train drivers and other personnel. If she joins you and Weiss, she will be treated with all respect."

"You should. She's really done a number on the White Fang. They piss their pants when they see her."

"Ah yes. Your encounter near Sweetwater harbour. We found them. You'll be pleased to know we disposed of the bodies. Leaving them for their friends to find is a bit sloppy."

"Why? Could have been anyone."

Mr. Schnee counted on his fingers. "One spearman shot with multiple rounds of red Dust. One gunwoman stabbed in the back with a long thin blade, one swordswoman with a vicious headwound, another killed with a slash across the back. And finally, a gunwoman with a gaping hole in her chest and internal organs crushed. Your work I presume?"

Yang said nothing.

"Dust shotgun, Multi-action dust rapier, and a blade that may well be a variant-ballistic chain scythe. That is what convinced us that this was you. If we can deduce that, then so can the White Fang." Mr. Schnee bent over to Yang. "Do you still think Weiss is better off in the wild with you two than she is back home?"

Yang sneered. "This may come as a shock to you, Mister Schnee, but 'home' ain't the happy place to Weiss you may think it is. She's got no friends there."

"That's just part of life at Schnee Manor, I'm afraid. We do develop friendships, but they are not quite the same as what you have."

"Damn straight it isn't. She told me about it. Having a friend is a _weakness_ in your part of town. Having someone you don't backstab first chance you get is bad, because they _will_ backstab you. Hard to blame Weiss for staying away."

"It's not as bad as she makes it out to be, honestly. But I have to admit there's a grain of truth in that." Mr. Schnee sighed. "I am not going to convince you to tell me where she is, am I?"

"Nothing in the world you can do to make me."

" _Can_ do, yes there is, I assure you. _Will_ do, no." Mr. Schnee got up from his chair. "When you see her, tell her..." He looked away for a few moments, then back at Yang. There was a deep sadness in his eyes. "Tell her what you want. She won't believe anything I'd want to tell her."

Yang blinked. "You're letting me go?"

"Yes. I believe you have some shopping to do. Oh." Mr. Schnee reached into his pocket, pulled out a wallet and handed Yang some lien. "Since I can't do it myself, would you buy her some chocolate? She likes dark chocolate."

Yang looked at the money in her hand. "That's a _lot_ of chocolate, Mr. Schnee."

Father Schnee laughed. "Not if you go to the _Rue_ _Single_ by the canal and find a place called _Pucchini_. Keep her safe, Miss Xiao Long."

He turned round and walked out of the door. Yang looked at the door, then at the money in her hand.

"Well," she said. "That was a thing." 

* * *

 

"Can we go now?" Weiss felt close to tapping her foot. "Haven Academy is two hundred and twenty miles from here. I'd like to get there before the end of the year."

"You can always ask your dad for a ride," said Yang.

Weiss snarled. "I can't _believe_ he just _kidnapped_ you in broad daylight! The nerve!"

"He got you chocolates," said Blake, adjusting the strap on her backpack. "That has to count for something."

"Well if he thinks he can buy me with that, he's sorely mistaken."

"Come here," said Yang. She licked her thumb and polished a brown spot from Weiss' lip.

"Get away from me!" Weiss' eyes narrowed at Yang. "Are you _sure_ he didn't plant anything on you?"

Yang raised her arms. "Wanna search me for bugs?"

Weiss gave Yang a long look, then laughed.

"You haven't a single grain of shame in your entire body. Come on. Let's go." 

* * *

 

High up in the air, Mr. Schnee watched a monitor. Weiss and her friends were setting off on the road to Haven. A curious mix of sadness and pride showed on his face.

"We can drop down and grab her, Sir. Just say the word."

"We can, but we won't," said Mr. Schnee.

"At least let me take out that White Fang Faunus. She's going to be trouble if we don't, mark my words."

"Take her out? That woman is an icon of fear to the White Fang. If you'd kill her, I'd have to set up a replacement. Maybe I will anyway. Let them be. Set course for Atlas. I've been away too long already."

"Aye-aye, Mr. Schnee."


End file.
